Women charged for being an accomplice in a rape on the rise in Mumbai

29 Feb, 2012

Reply to a RTI application has revealed a disturbing figure. The number of women who have been charged as an accomplice in a rape case is on the rise in Mumbai. As per data obtained from 85 of Mumbai’s 93 police stations through a Right to Information (RTI) application, it has been observed that women were charged with rape in Mumbai in five cases in 2009. This number increased to 10 cases in 2010 and further to 12 in 2011.

The charge of abetment of rape being applied against women is not common. These women have been charged in those cases where they are suspected of either being an accomplice or an abettor to the rape. A common example is one in which a woman trafficked a minor victim for prostitution purposes. As per Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the offence of rape can be committed only by a man against a woman and a woman can't be charged with rape. A female can be booked only for an indecent assault or an abettor to the crime. Women were not the principal accused and those women who push minors into the flesh trade can be booked for abetment of rape as an accomplice.